lifeaftr | November Undercurrent: And We Give Thanks

NOVEMBER UNDERCURRENT

Who: Everyone!
What: Have you told someone you loved them yet?
When: November 3rd to November 20th
Where: Everywhere!
Warnings: Nothing of note; please mark if anything comes up!

Take Me Back to the Reasons Why
The Water wishes to demonstrate their power to you, as well as just what they mean, when they suggest that they require your cooperation. They are going to bring back the harvest island of Nuidan, a generally fondly remembered island that explorers have encountered in the past. What's more, they're going to require your help to do it.

Starting November 3rd, characters will discover a simple strip of dark leather among their belongings, meant to be worn around the neck or wrist. They can disregard it, of course, but if they attempt to discard or destroy it, it will always find its way back to them, no matter how improbable this might seem. How strange...

Perhaps even stranger is the sudden appearance of a smooth slab of stone, half-submerged in the waters just off of Ensō's coast. It's an altar, and around its edges are a series of deep notches, as though something is meant to be inserted into them. In its center is a pool of water, though it curiously doesn't seem to reflect anything.

The purpose of this will only really become obvious once the month goes on. Characters will find themselves to compelled to be honest with the people around them as to why they care, why they appreciate them as people, or what they like most about them. This compulsion can vary wildly and at the player's discretion, from a gentle mental pressure to an unstoppable force, and anything in between!

The bottom line is that every time one admits to some feeling of gratitude, no matter how small or big, their little plait of leather will receive a crystal from the interaction. All crystals will be roughly the same shape, but they may vary in color, pattern, and texture. Some might be simple sticks of quartz, while others might be comprised of myriad, ever-changing swirls of color. Again, the only limit here is your imagination.

Now the presence of that strange, altar-shaped stone in the water might make a bit more sense. Those notches in its sides are the perfect size and shape to fit a crystal smoothly into any one of them. The more grateful interactions one has with others, the more crystals they will gather, and the more they can fit into the altar. As more crystals are fed to the altar, it will start to glow. The pool of water at the altar's top will start to reflect the likeness island of Nuidan in increasing clarity, as though one is peering at its likeness in a snowglobe. What's more is that the number of crystals in the altar will very obviously affect Nuidan's state: very few crystals will make the island look as though it is mostly wilderness only a handful of structures in dire need of repair, while a great deal of crystals will cause the island to look as though it is thriving, in full bloom, and in more need of harvest than maintenance.

But, ultimately, the state in which Nuidan returns to you is up to you...and how far you're willing to go to express a little gratitude. Don't worry if you don't know anyone, either - this marks a great opportunity to start doing nice things for people, even if you don't know them! You've got most of the month to get to know each other, after all.

Don't think you can get away with heaping compliments on your closest friends and companions, however; variety is the name of the game here. While you can collect all sorts of crystals for personal use from repeat interactions, you can only feed one crystal to the altar per person. That is to say, Character A can be as grateful to Character B as they like, but only one crystal from each character can be delivered to the altar. If they want to procure more for the altar's purposes, Character A will have to have a positive interaction with Character C, and so on.

Take Me Back to That Big Sky

Of course, there's a lot going on in the background as well. You're free to use this log as a catch-all for the duration of November's Undercurrent Event, as well as the other minor events listed on our Monthly Rundown post. You are very, very free to let your dreams about creepers and baby lorbies become reality, and you are always free to create your own individual logs and posts as needed.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them over on our Monthly Rundown post!

November Timeline

[ ♆ ] November 3rd: "And We Give Thanks" begins and lasts until November 20th
[ ♆ ] November 4th: "Aw, Man" begins and lasts until November 12th
[ ♆ ] November 11th: "The Lorblings" begins and lasts until November 25th
[ ♆ ] November 20th: Nuidan returns to the archipelago
[ ♆ ] November 21st: "Return to Your Roots" begins and lasts until November 30th

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

When Ginko arrives in the morning, he'll find that the resident deputy medical director is already hard at work counting stock for the day, if the muffled sound of numbers and items being listed off that's coming from the storage room are anything to go by. There's a strange light-heartedness to the good doctor's tone as they work, almost as if they're trying to string their counting together into a silly little tune. Or perhaps he's just in a really good mood today, who can say for sure?

Perhaps Ginko will begin to start feeling a little déjà vu, however, when he notices none other than Mini-Faust standing upon the receptionist's desk, once again practising their martial arts with the now-iconic stick they pilfered from goodness knows where. They've actually become worryingly proficient with it, even as it has begun to visibly decay, the dull twig whirling around the familiar's tiny body at speeds that are probably breaking the sound barrier.

But then they spot Ginko, and the stick suddenly stops mid-twirl. Mini, shockingly, immediately drops it onto the floor as they practically dive through the air, sticking the landing like a champion (again) and all but sprinting towards their friend with their stubby arms raised like a child coming in for a hug.

...actually, that might be precisely what they're trying to do...?

Seeing Mini "practicing" (Ginko guesses that's probably what they're doing) on Faust's desk isn't too much of a surprise, at least, and Ginko is just about to greet them when they notice him first - and that reaction is new.

So new, in fact, that Ginko apparently has no idea how to respond - or maybe that's just a consequence of Ginko being pretty universally incompetent when it comes to physical affection. The awkward headpat Mini gets in response, once he's done freezing up completely, is actually pretty good from Ginko. "Whoa, uh-- hey."

Mini finishes crossing the distance and lunges, latching onto Ginko's leg like an overly affectionate kitten - an apt metaphor, as it turns out, once they begin nuzzling their tiny paper bag into the half-troll's soothing headpats. For a creature without toes and only four stubby fingers, they've got a surprisingly firm grip, which would probably go a very long way into explaining how they can wield their preferred weapon with such finesse...

"...Mini, we've been over this at least two-hundred and sixty-seven times now, we do not accost ou-Oh! Young Ginko! Welcome back! How are you feeling this wonderful morning? Isn't the weather positively beautiful today?"

Enter the good doctor, stage left, pointing at the entryway with an affronted expression before realising Mini is not, in fact, making a nuisance of themselves. His bag immediately shifts from mild irritation to complete jubilation, and he crosses the gap between him and his colleague in mere milliseconds, moving to extend one hand out for an energetic handshake and another to give Ginko several friendly pats on the shoulder.

Well. Someone's in a good mood.

This would be A Lot for Ginko even on a normal day, and given how worn out he's been lately, it is... even more. It's so much.

At least, rather than jerking away from the contact immediately, he lets this whole thing happen for a couple moments before pulling away and seeing if he can nudge Mini off his leg - and, as stiff and uncomfortable as his body language may be, he is smiling slightly when he nods at Faust. It's not that the greeting is entirely unwanted, after all; it's just a matter of Ginko being Ginko.

"It's pretty nice out. I guess you're doing well?"

November Undercurrent: And We Give Thanks

a - Nov. 3

Re: a - Nov. 3

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